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This month’s theme of Make Space for Crafting has got me thinking about designer/hacker/artist Emily Albinski’s helpful 101 feature on SketchUp, Google’s free 3D modeling software, which originally appeared on the pages of CRAFT Volume 09. As Emily writes in her intro:

For decades, computer-aided design (CAD) applications were expensive tools used only by a limited circle of designers and engineers. Now Google has offered CAD to the masses, with SketchUp, a free program that’s intuitive to use.

In this tutorial we’ll be modeling a charging caddy: a box to house a power strip and chargers, with a compartment on top for your cellphone and other handhelds.

Pictured above is a split shot with the left half depicting part of Emily’s SketchUp drawing of the caddy and the right half showing half of her finished caddy. Use the tutorial to create a charging caddy like Emily’s or learn from the tutorial and then design your own craft supply organizing caddy. You can even use it to sketch your dream craft space, or just about anything else you can think up.
Here’s the full tutorial shared with you in our Digital Edition. You can also still pick up a physical copy of CRAFT Volume 09 over in the Maker Shed.

I’m a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

I was an editor for the first 40 volumes of MAKE. The maker movement provides me with endless inspiration, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. Covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made.